God’s Greatest Poem
Please read this whole post so you don't misunderstand where I am going with this devotional.
God gives each of us (mankind) one or more talents; talents we can squander on ourselves, for the world, or use for God's glory. If we come to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, the Bible teaches the Holy Spirit also gives us spiritual gifts to be used to build up and strengthen our fellow believers.
One talent I have had since I was a child was the ability to play with words and make a poem out of them. Granted, I do not consider most of the poetry written before I came to the Lord to be worth much in the eyes of eternity, nor when compared to the poems I have written since I have gotten saved. Now I use my spiritual gifts (exhortation and teaching) to make my natural talent better and to make a difference in the lives of those around me, especially to edify my brethren and remind them of the promises of God.
Truly, my talent and gifts in this area would be nowhere near as good (if that is an appropriate word to use) without the input of my Christian friends throughout the years. Friends such as my webpartner, Angela Trenholm, who has helped me make so many poems better - including helping me rewrite It's Only After and Just As I Was. My sister, Lori, whom I can tell when she doesn't like the wording of a line here and there. But it is such a pleasure to see when something I write touches her heart and draws her closer to the Lord. There are also the many friends from my Bible study group and my church who have helped iron out parts of my poems here and there.
All that being said, I'm a poet. I love expressing the truth of the Word of God through poems and songs because they affect people emotionally in a way that dry facts or doctrine itself does not - though I seek God's wisdom in each poem to make sure that every idea and phrase I use is according to the Word of God (specifically the King James Bible), because only people and the Word of God last forever. If I want God to bless my poems, it must not be some nice sounding religious idea, but a poem firmly based on the Bible.
As a poet, I am not finished with a poem completely until I get it exactly the way I want it, until it sounds pleasant to me, until I get the Scriptural ideas and promises across in a way that is clear to those I share each poem with. I want an end result that is the best I can make it - and yes, that includes taking into consideration the input of others. I want a finished poem that I can be satisfied thoroughly with and that glorifies the Lord God.
Did you know God is writing a poem too?
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
The word for "workmanship" is the Greek word poiema, where we get our English word poem from. According to this verse, you are God's poem!
And just like an earthly poet keeps working on each poem until he gets it exactly the way he wants it, so does God. The difference is He is the great Creator, He has all wisdom, and He absolutely loves each poem He has started. He will continue working on us until the day He takes us home to glory.
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
In His love and wisdom, the Heavenly Potter will work in each of our lives and make the final product that He has long desired - a vessel that is transformed into honour and that brings Him eternal glory. If you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation, believing He paid the complete penalty upon the cross when He died for your sins, know that the Risen Saviour is also working on you each day. He is the Master, the Potter, the Creator, and He has the power to transform any vessel, no matter how marred and scarred, into one that is a valuable treasure to Him.
Jeremiah 18:2-4 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Psalm 68:13 Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.
Once God started the work of salvation in you, He promised that He will continue until He has the finished product before Him in Heaven. as long as we are alive, the Lord is working on each one of us.
Truly, God's greatest poem is you!
Under Construction
Under construction by the Lord,
Pieced together in perfect accord,
Bit by bit, each part joined carefully,
Fitted and arranged with wisdom, tenderly.
As the Holy Spirit smoothes the edges,
And transforms His vessel into honour,
These changes, blessed by God's own touch,
Are wrought by His glorious power.
When God's final product is presented,
It will have been tested and proved.
Fired in the kiln of life's afflictions,
Refined and the impurities removed.
Though I can't imagine the end result as yet,
This work of art will someday be done.
Molded by the Potter with His very hands,
Lovingly crafted into the image of His Son.
August 22nd, 1995
Jerry Bouey
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